Even as the political relationship between New Delhi and Beijing has gone through ups and downs this year, the Indian government has quietly launched a broad campaign to win hearts and minds in China.

Since opening in May, the tremendous success of the Shanghai Expo has been vividly demonstrated by what has also been the source of the greatest number of complaints: endless queues. Visitors, primarily Chinese, arrive as early as 3am and assemble in ever-longer lines in front of national pavilions, with the biggest crowds drawn to the ones packed with technology.

Europe and China must "invest more in the great potential of our people-to-people relations" to fully benefit from their strategic partnership, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said this morning (6 October) at a press conference alongside Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

There are four official languages in Singapore: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. When the country gained independence in 1965, the government decided to keep English as the main language in order to maximise economic prosperity. Mandarin, however, has always been an important language too.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) has a new chairman in Walter Isaacson, and the former CNN and Time magazine chief is calling for even more money for the BBG to combat the public diplomacy efforts of America's "enemies," which he identifies as Iran, Venezuela, Russia, and China.

The "smile diplomacy" in Southeast Asia that China watchers used to describe has been reversed by Beijing - into a frown. In the eyes of more than a few East Asian foreign-policymakers, China has come close to deleting the first letter in the "charm offensive" that Joshua Kurlantzick surveyed in his 2007 book by that name.

China's Minister of Culture Cai Wu, who was on a first-ever visit to Taiwan in early September, said cultural exchanges should be immediately stepped up and the two sides should sign a cultural cooperation agreement.

Is it a commentary on China’s influence in the Middle East? Is it a critique of Hosni Mubarak’s rule in Egypt? Is it another example of the banality of violence in popular culture? Or is it perhaps a commentary on the bullying associated with “democratic” elections in authoritarian states? Choose for yourself.